MiniSode 1: Nick's Jealousy
by HelloImSuperman
Summary: Nick gets a little jealous when Ashley and Ellis get a bit friendly with each other in the saferoom one night.. Never Surrender MiniSode Series.


**_Disclaimer / Intro / Prologue / Hello / What the Heck_**

_For those of you who have been following my story 'Never Surrender', don't freak; I'm still writing that one. I had an epiphany of sorts the other day and my brain said. "Hey, Superman, all these little details that you don't put in your chapters, why not make mini-stories out of them?" and I was like "Great idea, Brain!". So here you go. These are stories ranging back from when the characters of Never Surrender were just teenagers, to little details that may have happened in between chapters, and such. It most likely won't change the way you view the story / characters, but there are times when I've maybe had a day dream of Ashley and Zoey as kids, or secret safe room moments between her and Nick, that I just didn't put in the story, because they were petty details, but anyway, that's what you're getting into when you see _**Never Surrender Mini-sode [Insert Number Here]**_. Note that these stories will be from one character's point of view rather than the regular omniscient POV in the actual story. Enjoy!_

_- Superman_

Ashley's POV

It was hot. I was restless, extremely tired, but I couldn't sleep. I was lying on my side facing the wall of the stoney safe room, my thoughts -mainly petty things like how many infected were outside this very building, what time it was, etc - musing around in my head, but then I got a weird feeling. My back instinctively arched as I began to sense someone staring at it. Casually, I yawned, and stretched, slowly rolling onto my back, then glanced to the side and half-pretended to be surprised when I saw Nick's icy, teal eyes staring at me in the dim moonlight.

"Um, can I help you?" I raised my eyebrows as I fully settled myself onto my right side.

"No." He propped himself up on his elbow, one cheek in his palm. "Why are you still awake?"

It was obviously a question, but his voice was so flat, you would have thought it a statement.

"Guess I could ask you the same thing, huh, Suit."

His brow wrinkled ever so slightly as he glared.

"Don't call me that."

"Suit."

He sighed in frustration.

"Why are you still awake?"

The same question, the same flat tone, if not darker now.

"Why do you ask?" I played the conversation cooly and casually.

"Because I already know why I'm awake, and you're the only other one awake, sweetheart."

He played right back.

"Actually, Nick, I'm awake.." Ellis said softly, waving from the door across the room, slightly hidden behind a protruding wall.

"Whatever, Ellis."

I frowned, but didn't bother to comment about how Nick should be nicer.

Ellis shrugged and went back to staring out the window, and then Nick turned my way.

"Are you going to keep avoiding my question?"

"Are you going to keep being a dick?"

He frowned again, deeper this time, and his nostrils flared a bit.

We both paused when we heard someone shuffling from the other side of Nick, and laying in the corner to the right of Rochelle's sleeping figure, Coach got up and headed towards the window. Even though Nick had looked away, those sharp, teal irises stuck in my vision.

Nick's cool eyes were something that always intrigued me. Eyes did that with me. I may have not invented the saying "Eyes are the window to the soul", but I could read eyes faster than someone could blink them.

"Mind if I sleep next to you, Ashley?" Ellis said quietly as he drug a pile of blankets over between me and the wall. Coach had taken the shift over for him.

"Not at all." I smiled at him as I propped myself up on my left side now.

He smiled back, little creases squinting underneath his baby blues.

Ellis' eyes told me stories of how he was always going to have the overexcited little five-year-old boy inside his heart somewhere, even though he was twenty-three years old at the time; one year younger than me, same age as Rochelle, two-and-a-half or so years younger than Nick, and God only knows how many years younger than Coach.

He dropped the pile of cloth to the ground with a dull 'shlump' and then pulled his shirt over his head, revealing his toned and tanned Southern mechanic's torso. I could feel Nick watching for my expression and I caught a glance of disgust contorting his profile, but with his eyes on me, I played a little game with him, just to see what he would do.

I raised my eyebrows at Ellis, taking a noticeable glance at his body before looking back up at him.

"Heh," he flushed a little before laying down on the palette next to me.

"Hit the gym, much?"

He shrugged, mirroring my stance of my elbow supporting my head.

"I never really went to no gym, I mainly just worked on cars all the time, but Keith got this idea one time and he welded a bar up in a door way to see who could do the most pull-ups and, well, we tied, but we would just kinda mess around with it when we wasn't workin' cause, ya know, it was stuck up there anyhow."

"Oh, brother.." Nick groaned and rolled over onto his back.

I rolled my eyes, glancing over my shoulder a bit, and Ellis laughed.

"Well, that's cool. I can see that it did you well."

Now we both laughed.

I felt Nick's eyes staring at me again, watching my features once more.

"So, why cant'cha sleep? If you don't mind me askin'."

"Oh,"I shrugged at Ellis. "I just don't sleep a lot. I have insomnia."

"Oh, that's that stuff where you can't fall asleep and.. right?"

I laughed softly. "Yeah."

"I know it sounds weird but sometimes I can't sleep 'cause my thoughts get me so restless. Usually I'd be okay 'cause I'd know my mama's downstairs and she was just fine, but.." he shrugged a pause. "Guess it's just a little unsettlin' to know she's not here no more. I mean, I know for sure she's up with God but.." he shrugged again.

"Aww." I frowned a bit. And then I tried to hide a smirk as another idea played into my mind.

"Well, here." I scooted up next to him. "Now if you get all restless again, you'll hit me, and I'll personally shoot you with my Magnum."

Ellis laughed. "It'd be an honor to die that way, milady."

We both laughed and I laid my head on his shoulder as he threw an arm around my waist. I didn't get too close or too personal with him, as I wanted him to know we were nothing more than friends, but I couldn't help but smile to myself as I casually glanced over and saw the biggest glare on Nick's face.

"Got a problem, Suit?" I raised my eyebrows at him once more.

He didn't speak, he just rolled over, and I didn't hear from him for the rest of the night, and we all soon fell asleep.

The End


End file.
